Creating a Safe Environment

UHS is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for our patients and staff. This includes being compliant with all appropriate federal, state and local laws, having the appropriate personnel and policies in place and offering employees ongoing training, tools, supplies and equipment so able to mitigate risk and limit the number of unforeseeable events.

Fast Facts:

• Within the Behavioral Health Division, Admissions, Risk Management and Corporate Clinical teams’ focus is on the quality of patient care at our locations to work towards meeting, if not exceeding, the expectations.
• Our comprehensive Risk Management program is led by a Division Risk Management Director, who is supported by Senior and/or Regional Risk Managers and Facility Risk Managers.
• We also have a dedicated Corporate Loss Control (Employee Injury) staff, Claims Management professionals, as well as an Environmental Risk and Emergency Management team.
• Each RTF participates in a Patient Safety Organization (PSO) that voluntarily reports and analyzes data to help facilities identify opportunities to mitigate risk, reduce patient harm and improve quality of care. Updates on PSO initiatives are reported to the UHS Board of Director’s Quality and Compliance Committee every quarter.
• The Behavioral Health Division’s Corporate Patient Safety Council performs a robust analysis conducted on all relevant data for trends and follow-up action.

Employment Policies/Processes

UHS has formal policies/processes related to employment, including:

• Background Screening: requires criminal, sanction and drug screening as well as education, license and employment verification prior to hire. Additional sanction checks are made by a third party.
• Corrective Action: includes processes and training dedicated to proper investigation for HR and all supervisors/managers.
• Performance Appraisals: call for evaluations to generally be completed after 90 days of employment and annually thereafter.

Capital Expenditures

Part of providing safe environment for our patients and staff is our continual investment in equipment, facility expansions and renovations. In 2023, UHS’ capital expenditures for its RTFs totaled $93.5 million.[1] Recent projects include building new replacement buildings for The Hughes Center and Mountain Youth Academy.

• The Hughes Center’s 96-bed replacement facility, including an additional 32 beds, opened in January 2024. The modern facility features educational space and sensory tools to address the special needs of children with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities. The new facility has 14 sensory rooms and five exploratory rooms that include an art room, a study, a music room, a gaming room and an indoor physical activity space.
• Mountain Youth Academy’s new 120-bed Trauma Residential Facility, also added 32 beds and opened in January 2024. This facility expansion provides enhanced patient services and allows the facility to better meet the needs of the community by decreasing the wait time for quality mental health treatment for youth ages 5 to 17.